ISLAMABAD
\nAfghanistan on Tuesday announced a 17-member squad with three reserve players for their three-match T20I home series against Pakistan, commencing this week in Sharjah.
\nRashid Khan will lead a side that has some familiar names, including former skipper Mohammad Nabi, who had stepped down as captain after the 2022 ICC Men\u2019s T20 World Cup. However, senior batters Rahmat Shah and Hazratullah Zazai were not considered for the squad.
\nThe 37-year-old Nabi, was dropped for the series against UAE where the ODI mainstay Rahmat Shah earned a call-up to the T20I side. However, Shah was dropped from the squad for the Pakistan series without making his T20I debut.
\n\u201cOur team has been working hard in training camp and selectors have selected the best available players for the series,\u201d Afghanistan Cricket Board CEO Naseeb Khan said as quoted by the ICC on its website.
\n\u201cI am confident that our team will perform at their best and make our nation proud. We wish our team the best of luck for the series and hope to see them emerge victorious.\u201d
\nNabi, a veteran of 104 T20Is, returns to the squad. Qais Ahmad, Darwish Rasooli and Mohammad Saleem, who were part of the UAE series, do not feature in the squad.
\nThe series, marked to be the first multi-match bilateral series between these sides, will begin on March 24.
\n\u201cWe look forward to an exciting competition between two great teams. Both nations have passionate fans who support their teams with enthusiasm and pride,\u201d Naseeb Khan said.
\n\u201cAs neighbors, we have a special bond and we hope to showcase not only our cricketing skills but also the spirit of friendship and sportsmanship,\u201d he added.
\nAfghanistan Squad: Rashid Khan (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Usman Ghani, Sediqullah Atal, Najibullah Zadran, Afsar Zazai, Karim Janat, Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Noor Ahmad, Mujeeb Ur Rehman, Fareed Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi and Naveen Ul Haq.
\nReserve players: Nangyal Kharoti, Zahir Khan and Nijat Masoud.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD Afghanistan on Tuesday announced a 17-member squad with three reserve players for their three-match T20I home series against Pakistan, commencing this week in Sharjah. Rashid Khan will lead a side that has some familiar names, including former skipper Mohammad Nabi, who had stepped down as captain after the 2022 ICC Men\u2019s T20 World Cup. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":321073,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-321063","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n